Spring Cleaning
by Kiva Taliana
Summary: Arthur spring cleans, Merlin finds himself cleaning more than he thought. no slash


**The story is set after Series 3, Ep 3 'Goblin's Gold.' Hope you like it ;-)**

Merlin stepped around the pile of stuff in the middle of the room and looked at Arthur nervously. Arthur turned and glanced at him before throwing a candlestick into the pile.

"Don't just stand there Merlin, help!"

"With what?" Merlin asked, looking around at the chaos Arthur had wreaked and spent a second or so calculating how long it would take him to rectify it.

"Spring cleaning!" Arthur snapped. A few of the shield adornments from the wall got added to the pile.

"It's not spring," Merlin said, echoing Arthur's words from a few days before. Merlin ducked as he was pelted with the remaining small shields Arthur was holding.

"Hey!" Merlin snapped as a sharp corner met with his wrist. He looked at the injury and the blood welling from the wound it had caused.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Arthur snapped. "Now get this stuff out of here!"

"What are you talking about you… you… dolt!" Merlin struggled for a word and came up with that one. It at least made Arthur pause and stop throwing things, grabbing them and indiscriminately causing chaos.

"Dolt?" Arthur asked. Merlin spread his hands out at the floor.

"Look at it; it's going to take me days to clear this up."

"NO, it's going to take you this afternoon to get rid of it. I don't want it here!"

"Not that it wouldn't make my life easier, but why?"

"Because I'm sick of it, every time I turn around I get hit over the head, by things that are in my own room, and then I end up with…" Arthur paused and indicated to his ears, the donkey incident was obviously still on his mind. Merlin smirked and looked around.

"Arthur, you throw them as well."

"You deserve it!" Arthur snapped, looking around for something else he could add to the pile. Merlin's jaw dropped and he gaped for a moment before snapping his mouth shut. Then he opened it again.

"What? How on this Earth do I deserve having heavy goblets, armour and all sort of other… stuff, thrown at me!"

Arthur turned, his face contorting with anger. Merlin however was surpassing him for that. He stalked to Arthur and pointing a finger right at Arthur's face bellowed.

"Don't you open your mouth, Pendragon, or I will shove that pile into it!"

Merlin sounded like he really meant it. Arthur snapped his jaw shut and stared at Merlin in shock. Merlin glared at him, going nose to nose with the prince. Arthur's blue eyes widened, looking almost frightened. Merlin waited a moment.

"At least if you throw everything out, I can't throw anything at you, and no one can throw anything at me," Arthur snapped, without much edge.

"Except the bed, the table, the chairs, or are you going to take them out and just curl up on some cushions on the floor. I am not touching any of this! If you want it done then take it out yourself, put it back or leave it in a pile on the floor. It's all the same to me!"

Merlin spun on his heel and stalked out.

Six hours later he spun on his heel and came back, carrying Arthur's dinner on a tray. He elbowed the door open and looked around. The pile was almost gone, what had been moved had been put back in all the wrong places and Arthur was slowly moving things about. Tidying up took him longer than making a mess. Merlin dropped the tray down on the table with a crash, Arthur jumped and turned around, Merlin dragged Arthur's chair out.

"Dinner, eat, I'll deal with this!" Merlin snapped and started to rearrange the wall adornments so they were in the right place. Arthur slunk over to the table and sat down, then roused a little.

"Aren't I meant to be dining with my father?"

"I got Gaius to go and tell him you were suffering with a fever and needed rest, and peace," Merlin snapped.

"Thank you," Arthur said, toying with his food.

"Don't thank me. I don't even know why I do it at times," Merlin snapped sweeping a cluster of Arthur's clothes off the floor. He looked at them and then waved them at Arthur.

"Why did these need throwing out? Eat your food!"

Arthur did as he was told while Merlin folded the clothing angrily. He looked around the room, seeing the effort Arthur had made. At least he had made it, Merlin thought to himself, his anger abating slightly. Arthur looked up at him with a hurt expression. It didn't make any impression on Merlin.

"Don't do that!" Merlin snapped, shutting the cupboard and moving around the room, putting things where they should be.

"Merlin?"

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

Arthur sounded like he meant it, and Merlin paused to look at him, sitting there looking so - as Gwen had said recently - pitiful.

"Mean it," Merlin said.

"I do, and what am I going to say to Gwen, last time she saw me I was…"

Merlin smirked, realising he had got down to the bare bones of the problem. He had smoothed it over for Gwen but she had helped him out.

"I know next time not to trust you!" Arthur snapped.

"What?"

"It seemed weird, so I got Gaius into my room and made him say that he would be happy to see you executed. I knew it wasn't Gaius when he said that. I knew it… I trusted you, and I end up with Gwen coming in finding me like that!"

"To re-inform you that Gaius is a Goblin. Agree with me in the first place!"

"In the Royal Court, in front of my father, when **you** can't give me any evidence! I did ask."

"She said you looked cute," Merlin said.

"What?"

"She said, Gwen said, that you were all cute and she wanted to look after you. I suppose women go a bit like that with helpless animals."

"Merlin." His name was growled out dangerously. Merlin retreated a little.

"Eat your food," Merlin said. "Honestly, does it warrant pulling your room apart?"

"No," Arthur said. "I'm sorry."

This time it sounded very meant. Merlin paused and sighed.

"Once you have finished that, go to bed. Your father is bound to come in at some point and I need to make sure everything is in the right place. Don't get under my feet."

Arthur didn't. Merlin eventually put out the candles.

"Goodnight Merlin."

Merlin paused by the door, taking in the words he had never heard before.

"Goodnight, Arthur."

And Arthur was very good, so good in fact that when, eventually, weeks later, an item connected with Merlin's head he walked away angry but with something else in his mind.

Spring cleaning could sometimes be a very worthwhile activity.


End file.
